Chapter 3

The vaulted ceiling of the council hall stretches high above. Cold white holographic beams cut through the Gothic stone pillars, bathing the massive space in a freezing, ice-cellar glow.

Two elite guards roughly drag me into the center of the hall.

Thud.

The blood bond deep in my bones turns into a crushing weight. It slams into my back without warning. This is the absolute, tyrannical suppression a Sire holds over their bloodline.

"Serena, you've disappointed me."

Marcus looks down at me from the Prince's throne on the raised dais.

Elena leans against his knee. Her face is pale as paper, and tears cling to her eyelashes like a frightened fawn.

"You were my proudest daughter," Marcus's voice booms through the hall. "Yet you let your own selfish desires drive you to abuse your own kind. Elena is fragile. How could you be so cruel as to force her to kneel in punishment? Have you thrown away everything this family stands for?"

Before I can even open my mouth, Elliot jumps in, eager to pile on.

"My Prince, Serena is just using this as an excuse to lash out!" Elliot says, full of righteous anger.

"Elena just hesitated for a second out of fear on the battlefield. And Serena slapped a newcomer in front of everyone! She completely traumatized her!"

Kane chimes in right after, his face full of disgust. "Exactly! She used her high-level aura to bully her own people. Zero class. And she literally hijacked the Alpha's core, trying to pocket a strategic resource that belongs to the family!"

Lucas lets out a heavy, dramatic sigh. "Serena, jealousy has completely twisted you. You can't just viciously target Elena because the Prince favors her."

I tremble with absolute fury. The rage burning in my chest is about to incinerate my last shred of sanity.

"Bullshit!"

I snap my head up and glare at these lying pieces of trash, my eyes bloodshot. I scream right back at them.

"She hid her strength on purpose! She broke formation to get me killed! I took down that Alpha completely on my own! You useless cowards didn't even have the chance to draw your swords, and you have the nerve to point fingers at me?!"

"Enough!"

Marcus snaps coldly.

A heavier, more punishing wave of bloodline suppression crashes down on me. I taste copper and violently cough up a mouthful of blood.

He raises his right hand and clutches his fingers in the empty air.

Crack.

The storage compartment on my tactical belt explodes. The high-tier monster core, still warm from my body heat and stained with Alpha blood, rips out of my control and flies straight into his hand.

"Taking the law into your own hands, framing your comrade, and disrespecting your elders." Marcus fingers the core. "Serena, your violent nature breaks the very covenant of this family."

"Effective immediately, you are stripped of your title as Chief Executioner."

The words hit me like a bucket of ice water.

"Tear off her uniform. Revoke her right to bear arms."

"Since you refuse to learn tolerance, you will serve as Elena's personal maid. Maybe then you'll learn how to properly serve others."

"Yes, my Prince."

Four elite guards immediately step up. They pin my arms in a death grip and force me face-down onto the floor.

Rip.

With a harsh tearing sound, my custom tactical vest, the ultimate symbol of the family's military might, is brutally ripped apart.

My black-and-gold epaulets of honor are thrown hard onto the ground. The guards' heavy boots stomp right over them.

The freezing air bites at my bare skin, exposing a jagged network of old scars.

They are my medals. The physical proof of centuries of bleeding and fighting to the death for Marcus and this family.

I stare dead at Marcus on the dais, my eyes practically splitting open with rage.

Even when I come back covered in blood and scars with the highest-tier loot in hand, he still just sees me as a stepping stone. Something to crush underfoot just to please that useless bastard daughter of his.

I hate them. I hate how blind I was in my past life, completely fooled by this fake family love and bloodline bond. But more than anything, I hate these hypocritical, flesh-eating monsters.

Just as my grief and fury peak, making me grit my teeth until they almost shatter, the scene on the dais stabs my eyes.

Marcus turns around. His cold, ruthless face softens in a split second.

Like he is holding a priceless treasure, he gently places my Alpha core, the one I traded my life for, right into Elena's palm.

"Don't be afraid, my child."

"This is the resource you deserve to stabilize your foundation. It will make you stronger."

Elena looks up timidly and shoots me a glance.

Right where Marcus can't see, beneath that pitiful little act, the corners of her mouth twitch up into a quick, arrogant smirk.

"Thank you, Father," she says in her fragile little voice. "And thank you, sister Serena, for being so 'generous'."